The sandy beach at Renai village in Nangan of the Matsu Islands of Taiwan.

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I imagine some of you are saying "Finally! Some beach pictures!" The truth of the matter is, it was - wait for it - too hot and sunny to do any swimming activities on the islands. Aside from a relentless morning-to-night schedule of touring activities, the baking sun wasn't conducive to sitting around on this nearby shadeless beach. As a post-30 y/o individual finally coming to grips with his own mortality, I try my best to avoid direct sun exposure for more than 10 minutes at a time. Like many people this age, my silly youth years of sprawling out under the sun are all but over and my concern for an extended life, free of melanoma, has begun in earnest.

But that shouldn't stop you from endangering your own health by exposing yourself to cancer-causing UV rays on Matsu beaches. Of the many beaches that I've seen on Matsu, I'd guesstimate that over half of them are sandy, clean and completely swimmable. As an up-and-coming tourist destination, Matsu's lack of tourist infrastructure vis-a-vis beach-side snack bars and water-sport rental shops are glaringly obvious. For now, you'll have to settle for peace and relaxation when you head to one of the dozens of beaches on Matsu.

The traditional stone houses and sandy beach at Renai village in Nangan, Matsu Islands, Taiwan.

Renai villagers have joined forces and commandeered a traditional house in order to use for revenue-generating tourism purposes. Currently it's only an empty building but the plan, according the local residents, is to use the beach-front property to help drive tourists to the village. My guess is that they'll have a hot dog joint cum mini-mart up and running in no-time!